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WCPC13: Brailsford and Grobler become UK Sport's first Honorary Coaching Fellows

Published 26 November 2013

  • Sir David Brailsford and Jürgen Grobler OBE inducted as first Honorary Fellows to UK Sport’s new Coaching Fellowship
  • Coaching Fellowship will champion the coaching profession and support the development of British coaches
  • World class athletes to benefit from fast-track ‘Athlete to Coach’  programme to support their transition to world class coaches 

Sir David Brailsford and Jürgen Grobler have today been made honorary members of UK Sport’s new Coaching Fellowship, which aims to champion the coaching profession and support the development of world class coaches in the UK.

Brailsford and Grobler were announced as the inaugural Honorary Fellows at UK Sport’s World Class Performance Conference presented by Sportscover, and have been chosen for their proven track record of delivering sustained success, but also their commitment to coach development and willingness to share and impart knowledge. 

UK Sport has identified high performance coach development as a key ingredient to winning more medals at the next summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio, while building a stronger, more sustainable high performance system, and has doubled its investment into this area for the Rio cycle.

While Brailsford and Grobler will help UK Sport to develop coaches already operating at a high level within their sport, the new ‘Athlete to Coach’ programme, designed to meet a demand from sports for help at the foundation level of the coaching pathway, will support former world class athletes, identified by their sports, to accelerate their transition into careers as world class coaches.   

Liz Nicholl, CEO of UK Sport, said: “To remain successful in a very competitive environment, the British high performance system has to continue to evolve, innovate and work in partnership to harness all the talent, experience and knowledge available to us.

“Sir David Brailsford and Jurgen Grobler are exceptionally talented and experienced individuals who share our vision for success and as Coaching Fellows they will help to inspire and support the development of the next generation of leaders.

“Our new Athlete to Coach programme provides an exciting opportunity to encourage the right athletes to embark on an accelerated coaching journey with us.

“It’s clear that there is untapped potential waiting to be unlocked; while there is an almost even split of split of female and male athletes, there are far fewer female high performance coaches. This new programme provides a perfect opportunity for us to attract even more of this talent into high performance coaching to build a stronger system that will deliver more medals in Rio and beyond.”

Graham Taylor, UK Sport’s Head of Coaching, said: “Our aim is to take British Coaching from world class to world leading, by supporting high performance coaches at every stage of their development. 

“At the very start of the elite coaching pathway, with Athlete to Coach, we hope to accelerate the development of talented athletes who want to use their knowledge and experience as a competitor to coach others to follow in their footsteps. This isn’t always an easy transition to make, but our sports have told us if we can equip these athletes better, it could have a great impact on our coaching workforce.

“With the launch of the Coaching Fellowship, we have two exceptional inaugural Fellows in Sir David Brailsford and Jürgen Grobler, who will help us champion and raise the bar for British coaching in the future.”

Sir David Brailsford, Performance Director of British Cycling, said: “Good coaching has been a crucial ingredient in the success of the GB Cycling Team over the years, and supporting our coaches in their professional development is key. I’m excited and honoured to be part of UK Sport’s Coaching Fellowship, which will help ensure we get the best out of our coaches, and continue to see British sport go from strength to strength.”

Jürgen Grobler, GB Rowing Team Chief Coach for Men, said: "I am proud and delighted to be chosen by UK Sport as one of only two inaugural Fellows.  It is a privilege for my sport of rowing.  I have had the honour but also the responsibility of working with many, many talented athletes in my coaching career in the UK who have sacrificed so much to achieve their dreams. My work has been eased in more recent years by the advent of National Lottery funding which has made such a significant difference to high performance sport. This award is as much for the rowers I have coached as it is for me."

Louise Donington, former World Canoe Slalom Champion, who is in the early stages of her coaching career, said: “It feels like I’ve been studying to be a coach for the last 20 years as an athlete; I’ve gained so much knowledge over my years as an athlete that it would be a shame not to go on to use this as a career. The Athlete to Coach programme is a great initiative, and will help teach athletes the best way to pass on their experience and empower the athletes of the future as coaches.”

UK Sport has worked with over 200 coaches on their professional development over the past eight years, and, of these, more than 50 worked with athletes who competed at London 2012. These coaches worked directly with athletes who secured at least 32 of the medals won across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including 12 golds.

The Coaching Fellowship and Athlete to Coach will complement UK Sport’s existing coach development initiatives - the Elite Coaching Apprenticeship Programme and Elite Programme – and the foundation programmes delivered by Sports Coach UK, to ensure a clear career development pathway for high performance coaches in British sport.
 

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